Lebanon’s parliament has elected Army Chief, Joseph Aoun as the country’s President, ending a power vacuum that lasted for more than two years.
60-year-old Aoun is Lebanon’s fifth army commander to become President, and the fourth in a row.
He secured 99 votes from the 128-seat parliament to win the presidency in a second round of voting on Thursday, January 9, 2025, afternoon.
Aoun’s victory, which saw members of parliament erupting in celebration as he reached the required threshold of 86 votes, came on the legislature’s 13th attempt to find a successor for Michel Aoun – not related – whose term ended in October 2022.
In the first round of voting earlier in the day, lawmakers from the pro-Hezbollah bloc had voted blank, a source close to them said, leaving Aoun short of the required two-thirds majority to win outright.
The source divulged that representatives from the bloc met Aoun at the parliament during a break before lawmakers returned for a second vote.
Lebanon had been without a President since the term of Michel Aoun ended in October 2022, with tensions between Hezbollah and its opponents scuppering a dozen previous votes.
Aoun’s election came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted 14 months of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, as the country seeks aid for reconstruction.
International pressure had mounted for a successful outcome with just 17 days remaining in a ceasefire to deploy Lebanese troops alongside United Nations peacekeepers in south Lebanon.
Aoun told the chamber after he was sworn in, “A new phase in the history of Lebanon begins today.”
In his acceptance speech, Aoun had focused on “building” the nation and its army while sending the message that nobody had been “defeated.”
Aoun now faces the daunting tasks of overseeing the ceasefire and naming a prime minister to lead reforms demanded by international creditors to alleviate the country’s worst economic crisis in its history.
Aoun’s Election Welcomed
Aoun was widely seen as the preferred pick of the United States, as well as regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia.
US Ambassador to Lebanon, Lisa Johnson, who attended Thursday’s session at the Lebanese parliament along with other foreign envoys, said that she was “very happy” about Aoun’s election.
According to Saudi state media, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Aoun on his election.
Iran’s embassy in Beirut also welcomed Aoun’s election, stating on X that it was looking forward to working together and hoping “to cooperate in different fields in a way that serves the common interests for our countries.”
Christophe Lemoine, Spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, stated that the result opened a new page for Lebanon, calling for Aoun’s election to be followed by the appointment of a strong government capable of carrying out reforms for “Lebanon’s economic recovery, stability, security and sovereignty.”
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, welcomed the election “as a long-awaited first step towards overcoming Lebanon’s political and institutional vacuum.” “A Prime Minister must be designated and a government formed without delay,” she added.
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